Toronto Foundation's Vital Toronto event celebrates philanthropy and community leadership

TORONTO, June 17, 2015 /CNW/ - It's been called the "Academy Awards for Making a Difference," and today Toronto philanthropists, community and corporate leaders will gather for the 8^th annual Vital Toronto event. Hosted by Toronto Foundation, the event is a celebration of philanthropy and honours the 45 recipients of the Foundation's Vital Toronto Fund grants. Matt Galloway, of CBC Radio One's Metro Morning, will return as the event emcee at the Glenn Gould Studio, from 9 – 10:30 a.m.

"Vital Toronto celebrates what is possible through collaborative leadership and community philanthropy. This event is for Toronto's community organizations and leaders whose work is vital to our city's quality of life," said Rahul K. Bhardwaj, President & CEO, Toronto Foundation.

The Vital Toronto Fund is a community endowment built with contributions from Toronto Foundation Fundholders, individual donors, and the corporate sector. There are three grant streams supported by the Fund: Vital Ideas, Vital People, and Vital Youth/Playing for Keeps. KPMG, for example, has worked with the Foundation on a collaboration called "Vital Impact: Vital Toronto" for the past five years. In addition to awarding a co-branded Vital Ideas grant to a recipient, KPMG's employees volunteered their time and skills with some of Toronto's most innovative community organizations. This year's recipient is Canadian Training Institute for its "Breaking the Cycle" program.

In addition to granting to their chosen charities locally and across Canada, many Toronto Foundation Fundholders contributed to Vital Toronto Fund grants with additional grants from their Funds this year. This additional support enabled the Foundation to invest in more not-for-profit leaders, build the capacity of more organizations and support more youth-focused recreational programs. These Fundholders include:

• Ada W. Slaight Fund
• Angela Longo Leadership Fund
• Calamor Fund
• Dr. Nevada Fund
• Erica Shuttleworth Fund
• Goring Family Foundation
• Griggs Family Foundation
• Honey Family Foundation
• John and Christine Currie Foundation
• John and Jocelyn Barford Family Foundation
• Karen and Bill Barnett Fund
• Margaret and Gordon Fleming Fund
• Michelle Tannenbaum Fund
• Patricia J. Fleming (FBG) Fund
• Richard and Donna Ivey Fund
• Sedbergh School Fund
• Tony and Caley Taylor Family Fund
• Wilkinson Family Fund

Highlights from this year's Vital Toronto celebration include:

• Presentation of the 2015 Martin Connell "Spirit of Philanthropy" Award;
• An on-stage interview featuring Hillary Marshall, Vice President, Stakeholder Relations and Communications, GTAA, and Calvin Kangara, Resident Leadership Strategies Coordinator, East Scarborough Storefront on building social capital in communities through Playing for Keeps, a social legacy of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games;
• Presentation of three "Vital Innovation Awards" created to help support the most transformative ideas from Toronto's 100In1Day event, curated by Evergreen and United Way Toronto;
• A performance by Ballet Creole.

About Toronto Foundation

Established in 1981, Toronto Foundation is one of 191 Community Foundations in Canada. We are a leading independent charitable foundation that connects philanthropy to community needs and opportunities. Our individual and family Fundholders support causes they care about in Toronto and across Canada, through grants to any registered Canadian charity. We currently have more than 500 active Funds, including endowments and assets under administration of more than $400 million. A growing number of Torontonians support the Vital Toronto Fund, our community endowment that helps mobilize people and resources to tackle community challenges in innovative and inspiring ways. To find out more, please visit www.torontofoundation.ca

SOURCE Toronto Foundation

Media contacts: Simone Dalton, Manager, Media Relations & Communications, Toronto Foundation [email protected], 416-921-2035 ext. 218 (O), 416-809-5036 (C), Victoria Ollers, [email protected], 416 822-2288